The Senate voted today to confirm a former U.S. Attorney to sit on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Beverly Martin, who served as a U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia from 1998 to 2000, will hear cases from Georgia, Alabama and Florida on the circuit court of appeals. She previously served as a U.S. District Court judge in Atlanta.

The Senate vote was 97-0. Sens. Christopher Bond (R-Mo.), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), and Mark Udall (D-Colo.) did not vote.

Martin is the fourth circuit court appointee by President Obama to win Senate confirmation. Five other nominees have been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee and await Senate floor action.

John Walsh (Hill & Robbins, P.C.)

The Republican former U.S. Attorney in Colorado is pushing Denver lawyer John Walsh for the state’s top federal prosecuting job, The Denver Post reports.

Troy Eid, who served as U.S. Attorney during the Bush administration, wrote Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) that Walsh is “ethical and a person of unimpeachable character and integrity.”

Walsh, a white-collar criminal and civil attorney with the Hill & Robbins law firm, has re-emerged as a candidate for U.S. Attorney after President Barack Obama’s original nominee, Stephanie Villafuerte, withdrew on Monday, citing “political attacks” by Republicans.

Walsh and Villafuerte were recommended to the White House earlier this year by Udall and then-Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.), who is now Interior secretary. Their other recommendation was Bill Thiebaut, a district attorney for Pueblo, Colo.

Stephanie Villafuerte (handout via Denver Post)

In his letter to the senator, Eid said: “I know from my own experience that United States Attorneys are entrusted with tremendous power over life and property,” adding, “Colorado’s chief law enforcement leader must act in an ethical and nonpartisan way that’s beyond reproach. Our civil rights and community safety are at stake.”

Walsh also had worked previously for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

Former state Sen. Norma Anderson (R) also reached out to Udall on Walsh’s behalf. Anderson told The Post she has known Walsh for a number of years and believes he is “unbiased (and) open- minded and works well with both parties.” She added, “We’re not going to get a Republican appointed, so why not take the best of the Democrats?”

In a Wednesday email to The Post, Walsh wrote, “I was deeply honored to be on the list sent by Sen. Udall and then-Sen. Salazar to the President in January to be considered for nomination as U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado,” adding,  “I am deeply honored to be considered now.”

Bill Thiebaut (gov)

Thiebaut, also in a Wednesday email to The Post, wrote that “everyone has a reason to support or to not support their favorite candidate.” He added, “I am sure that the President will make the right decision in selecting a new nominee after vetting potential candidates.”

Udall spokeswoman Tara Trujillo told The Post she does not expect that anyone other than Walsh and Thiebaut will be recommended to Obama.

Villafuerte, a longtime aide to Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D), was nominated Sept. 30. She withdrew from consideration following a controversy about whether she accessed a law enforcement database in connection with Ritter’s 2006 gubernatorial campaign. Villafuerte has denied the allegations.

Stephanie Villafuerte (handout via Denver Post)

Following the withdrawal Monday of the nominee for U.S. Attorney in Colorado, Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) will be resubmitting names of two former finalists for the job, The Colorado Springs Independent reports. Additional people also might be recommended, according to the newspaper.

On Monday, Stephanie Villafuerte, a longtime aide to Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D), withdrew from consideration. Villafuerte sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, Villafuerte expressed “deep regretâ€� about dropping out. Her decision follows a controversy about whether she accessed a law enforcement database in connection with Ritter’s 2006 gubernatorial campaign. Villafuerte has denied the allegations, which were raised by Republicans.

Udall and then-Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) had submitted three names for consideration: Villafuerte; Bill Thiebaut, a district attorney for Pueblo, Colo., who previously served as the Colorado Senate majority leader; and John Walsh, a white-collar criminal and civil attorney from Hill & Robbins in Denver who previously worked for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

Stephanie Villafuerte has withdrawn from consideration as U.S. Attorney for Colorado amid a barrage of questions from Republicans about her integrity.

In a letter today to Attorney General Eric Holder, Villafuerte, a longtime aide to Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D), expressed “deep regret” about dropping out. “At every stage of the process and consistent with Department of Justice protocols for U.S. Attorney nominees, I have honestly and thoroughly answered all questions posed to me,” she wrote. The Denver Post first reported the story Monday on its Web site.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) last week called Stephanie Villafuerte's record "incomplete." (Getty Images)

Read Villafuerte’s letter here.

Her withdrawal came just days after Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, urged panel Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to delay a vote on the Villafuerte nomination. Sessions said in a letter to Leahy that Villafuerte’s record before the panel was “incomplete.â€� 

Republicans have alleged that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Cory Voorhis was treated more harshly than the U.S. Attorney nominee in a controversy surrounding the use of a restricted federal database.

Voorhis lost his job for allegedly using a restricted government database to assist the 2006 campaign of Republican Bob Bob Beauprez, who ran an ad about an undocumented immigrant whose information was in the law enforcement database. Voorhis was later acquitted of charges stemming from the alleged misuse of the database.

Republicans have questioned whether Villafuerte asked people in the Denver District Attorney’s office to access the same database for political purposes, which could be a crime. Villafuerte’s boss, Ritter, was Beauprez’s opponent in 2006 as is a former Denver DA. Ritter has defended Villafuerte in the matter.

“Unfortunately, a needless and extraneous political fight has emerged in Colorado and that fight, in my judgment, has completely overshadowed the deliberative and independent assessment of my qualifications for this important office,” Villafuerte wrote in a letter to President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder, obtained by the Denver newspaper. “I continue to stand by my statements and maintain that my involvement was appropriate at all times.”

Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) said Villafuerte made the right decision. Udall spoke with Sessions over the weekend about the Republican’s concerns.

“Despite these assurances from Senator Sessions and despite Stephanie’s willingness to answer questions by the Judiciary Committee, it’s clear to me that a further delay in the confirmation is not good for Colorado or the office of U.S. Attorney,” Udall said in a statement. “Stephanie has made a decision in the best interests of the office she hoped to serve, and I respect her for it.”

Pueblo District Attorney Bill Thiebaut Jr. and Denver attorney John Walsh III are still on a list of possible candidates for Colorado U.S. Attorney, according to The Post.

Stephanie Villafuerte (gov)

The nominee to be the U.S. Attorney for Colorado has rejected allegations that she played a role in the use of a restricted government database to aid Gov. Bill Ritter (D) in his 2006 gubernatorial campaign, The Denver Post reported today.

Stephanie Villafuerte, who is Ritter’s deputy chief of staff, wrote in a letter to Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) obtained by The Post that her answer to the allegation is “emphatically no.”

Colorado Republicans have also raised questions about whether Villafuerte had discussions with staffers in the Denver District Attorney’s Office about an illegal immigrant who was featured in an ad against Ritter produced by Republican Bob Beauprez’s gubernatorial campaign.

Use of the federal criminal records database for political purposes could be a crime. She told the FBI in 2007 that she had “no conversations� with the DA employees about Carlos Estrada-Medina, who is also an alleged heroin dealer. Estrada-Medina had once obtained a plea deal under the alias of Walter Ramo when Ritter was Denver’s district attorney, according to The Post.

“Was I honest when I told the FBI that I did not have conversations with anyone at the Denver District Attorney’s Office . . . regarding the Ramo/Estrada Medina case?” Villafuerte wrote. “The answer is absolutely yes.”

Republicans charge that Villafuerte is being treated differently in the matter than U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Cory Voorhis, who lost his job after accessing the same database on behalf of the Beauprez campaign. Colorado state Sen. Ted Harvey and other state Republicans sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month, asking the panel to investigate whether Villafuerte used the database.

The committee has yet to schedule a vote on her nomination. President Barack Obama tapped Villafuerte for the post on Sept. 30.

President Obama nominated U.S. Attorneys for Colorado, Missouri and Oklahoma today. They are:

• 

  Stephanie Villafuerte (gov)

  Stephanie Villafuerte (Colorado): Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D)’s deputy chief of staff for community outreach would replace David Gaouette, who was appointed as the state’s acting U.S. Attorney Jan. 10, following the resignation of Bush appointee Troy Eid. Villafuerte, who was recommended by Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and then-Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.), previously served as Denver’s chief deputy district attorney. She also worked on Ritter’s campaign.

• Sanford Coats (Western District of Oklahoma): The Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma has served in his current role since 2004 and simultaneously headed the major crimes section of the office from 2007 to 2008. Before joining the office he was an associate at the Oklahoma City law firm Fellers, Snider, Blankenship, Bailey & Tippens.

• Beth Phillips (Western District of Missouri) The Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri has served in her current role since last year. Before joining the office she was an attorney in the Leawood law firm Bartimus, Frickleton, Robertson & Gorny. In addition, from 1997 to 2001 Phillips served as an assistant prosecutor in Jackson County.

Obama has now made a total of 30 U.S. Attorney nominations. The full Senate has considered 14 of those nominees and they were all confirmed by unanimous consent. Read biographies of the nominees here.

David Gaoutte

Colorado Acting U.S. Attorney David Gaouette has had his interim position extended by Attorney General Eric Holder for an additional 120 days after his previous appointment Aug. 7, The Denver Post reported today. Gaouette, who has held the temporary position since Jan. 10,  was named to be the acting U.S. Attorney following the resignation of Bush holdover Troy Eid.

If President Obama does not nominate a replacement for Gaouette by the time his extension expires, the court will appoint a U.S. attorney for the state. Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and then-Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) recommended Stephanie Villafuerte, deputy chief of staff to Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D) for community outreach and a former Assistant U.S. Attorney in Colorado; John Walsh, a white-collar criminal and civil attorney from Hill & Robbins in Denver who previously worked for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California; and William “Bill” Thiebaut Jr., a district attorney for Pueblo, Colo. who previously served as the Colorado Senate majority leader.